A huge thanks to Tilly for partnering on this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
I have always been a “homebody”, but this past year, it was taken to the extreme. We were all spending more time at home and dreading seeing the same walls every day. With having small children and being a stay at home mom, I spend most of my days entertaining the kids at home. I would look around our yard and see so many things I wanted to change, but didn’t have the time or resources to make it happen. While I am a home decor designer, I do not know anything about plants or flowers, so I was lost with how to landscape my backyard.
I have heard amazing reviews about Tilly Design, a woman owned and operated business. I ended up working with Tilly and signed up for the backyard landscaping design and lighting plan. Whether you are looking to upgrade your background or give it more cut appeal to sell, I highly recommend Tilly Design. The entire process was virtual. I had to submit a detailed questionnaire and dimensions of my backyard (a land survey) if I had them at my disposal. They then followed up with a phone call to discuss all aspects of my yard: my wants, needs, what we used the space for and even down to the critters that come into my yard. Green thumbs can do the installation themselves, but most clients hire a local lawn-care crew to handle the dirty work.We have a ton of deer so I needed plants and flowers that the deer wouldn’t eat.
Landscaping Plan
After just over a week, I was emailed a detailed landscaping plan. A plan saves you a lot of time and money. Too often I would buy plants for just the looks instead of knowing if they would be good with our soil or live in the location I was planting them in. I honestly had no idea that the visuals would look so life-like. In the plan, I received the following:
- 30 minute video (or phone) chat with designer
- Full-color scaled plan of project area
- Complete list of plants and materials (including botanical name, common name, size and quantity)
- Materials palette (including images and names of each item)
- Detailed installation and care instructions
- One round of design revisions
What is Tilly Design?
Tilly is a national online landscape design firm offering design services in all 50 states and parts of Canada. Their team has architectural and horticultural expertise in each region from the Northeast to the Southwest, even Hawaii! While most design services start at $1,500 before even considering plant materials and labor, Tilly provides a Master Plan of your entire property for $775 (Add Ons are extra). Their designers work on your schedule, with the added bonus of a lower carbon footprint saved from all those on-site appointments. And unlike many local professionals, Tilly will never tell you your project is too small.
What is Tilly’s Process?
To get started with Tilly, purchase a package on the Design Packages page.
- Get Started: Select and purchase the package that’s right for you. Don’t forget to consider our Add Ons!
- Project Dashboard: Create a personal login for your Project Dashboard. This will be your home base and offer a step by step guide through the Tilly process.
- Create Profile: Complete the Tilly Space Assessment, upload photos of your yard, and submit your property survey (if you have it, if not, we’ll help!).
- Meet Your Designer: We introduce you to your Landscape Designer, who will be your main point of contact throughout the Tilly process.
- Video Call: Conduct a video call with your designer. They will have reviewed all of your submitted information and be excited to walk around your space. This is an opportunity to give them a tour of your yard and get to know them!
- Basemap Approval: Review your site basemap measurements and placement of key features before the design work begins.
- Design Magic: Sit back and relax. This is when we include all your outdoor hopes and dreams into a single plan. Trust us, it’s worth the wait!
- Voila! Design Delivery: Your package will arrive by email and be posted in your Project Dashboard. Pretty easy, right?
3D IMAGES
I was honestly blown away when I saw these 3D renderings. Usually you have to wait months to see a project plan out, but I had it right at my fingertips in a weeks time.
I have included some “before” imagery at the bottom of the post so you can really appreciate and value what this company does.
PLANTING PLAN
I waste so much of my time strolling the isles of a nursery trying to find what would look perfect outside my home. So many times I would walk out empty handed because I felt overwhelmed. With a planting plan, you can simply walk into a nursery and just hand them a perfect list of everything you need. Just one trip and you will not buy an excess of items you don’t need. For all of these reasons alone is why Tilly’s Planting Plan is worth it. Their list provides you with the EXACT number of each plant, the recommended size and pictures of what each one looks like.
Lighting Plan
Tilly maps out what type of lights you need, the quantity and the type. If you are going to invest in a beautiful landscape, you should be able to enjoy it day and night, am I right?
Installation Guide
We are ready to get our hands dirty and make our yard beautiful. Are you ready to take this journey with us? I am so excited and can’t wait to share the process with you all.
One great take away I learned from Tilly is the ‘gardeners rule of thumb’…“The first year plants sleep, the second year they creep and the third year they leap!”
If you’re considering virtual landscaping design services, Tilly Design is a great budget-friendly option. They are professional, knowledgeable and have a serious attention to detail. They went above and beyond for all my questions and were very welcoming to have me email them with any additional assistance I needed.
Before & After
